Donic Acuda S3

This rubber is very good for players who favor blocking techniques.

I used this rubber on my backhand with a Nittaku Septear blade (OFF) for about a year before I changed. I found this rubber to be the best do-it-all rubber I have ever tried. It was really easy to block loops that had a lot of topspin, and it was fairly easy to create spin as well.

Compared to the Tenergy 64 I had on my forehand, the Acuda was superior. It had better spin, control, and durability. The only thing that Tenergy was better at was smashing the ball. Weirdly enough, the Tenergy was not faster by a whole lot.

I occasionally tried the rubber on my forehand, and it was super comfortable to loop and attack with. So far, it has been the best rubber I have used, but I do not have many other rubbers to compare it to since I am only 13. I have played for six years, so I still know my fair amount of table tennis.

I played Acuda S3 in 1.8mm on both the forehand and backhand on a Stiga All Around Classic blade. It was my first experience with tensor rubbers. I chose the Acuda S3 over the Desto series because I had heard that the first-generation Desto rubbers were not as well-balanced and stable as the newer Acuda rubbers.

I had previously played with some Desto rubbers (F3 and F2) and remembered them as being more bouncy. However, I found the Acuda S3 to be very easy to adapt to. It offered excellent spin, control, and ease of use for short touch play.

The Acuda S3 performed well for both driving and looping shots. While the 1.8mm thickness was adequate, I later considered using the S2 in 2mm for looping and the S3 in 2mm for all-around play.

Overall, the Acuda S3 was an excellent choice for my first tensor rubber. I was very satisfied with its performance. (At the time, I had been playing table tennis for almost two years. It’s possible that the Acuda S3 would have been too fast for a complete beginner.)

Good rubber for playing close to the table. The price is reasonable for such good quality rubber. I highly recommend this rubber for all-around players.

Acuda S3 features a soft sponge, making it ideal for generating lift under spin balls. While not excessively fast, it offers enough speed to finish points efficiently. However, durability is an issue, as the rubber tends to chip easily around the edges. The price is reasonable. Overall, Acuda S3 provides good control and emits a satisfying click sound.

I am using S3 on my Fh (blade Andro Temper Tech All+). It is a very good all-round rubber. It is easy to play and spin with.

This is a good rubber if you are looking for spin more than speed. It provides average control and would be suitable for all-around players.

A lightweight weapon, it is also speedy, but with little control and spin.

Great rubber. I have bought one fresh in 2015 and found it a tad harder with a little more kick. Still a great rubber with a lot of control.

It makes a great backhand and it pairs great with any blade. It’s a great last generation rubber with a springy rubber, grippy topsheet, and lightweight with good control.

Good all-around rubber.

Fantastic rubber for an ALL+ controlled game. It plays really well with the Grubba Carbon BH 2.0. Blocks are like a wall, not ‘catching’ spin. Backhand topspin is a killer, generating a high throw with tons of spin that always lands where it should.

It was also tested on the Innerforce ALC but didn’t perform as well with that blade.

Good rubber for looping from mid distance. I have it on my forehand with max size and on a Xiom Offensive S blade. However, I find it challenging to loop close to the table, especially when trying to execute slow loops. This may be due to the nature of the tensor on this rubber, as the ball tends to travel far and fast even with controlled input.

On the other hand, this rubber excels at mid distance play, allowing me to execute a wide range of shots effectively. It is also worth noting that with practice, the slow loops become more manageable. Overall, this is a high-quality rubber that I highly recommend.

I’ve been experimenting with various table tennis rubbers for several years. Initially, I believed I had discovered the ideal option with Tenergy 05 for my forehand. However, it proved to be a costly solution.

Subsequently, I stumbled upon Donic Acuda S3 and found the transition from Tenergy 05 to be effortless. Acuda S3 offers comparable spin and versatility as a forehand rubber, but at a much more affordable price point. I anticipate continuing to use it for many years to come.

The Donic Acuda S3 is a soft rubber that I used on backhand with a 1.8mm sponge in the red version.

On my backhand, it worked really great for me when playing topspins, shoots and drives. Spin and speed are good, especially shoots over the table are lightning fast, maybe also because of the low swing weight of the racket when doing short movements with the wrist. The control in those techniques is very good. The rubber produces a higher arc compared to the S2, which is for me an advantage when making backhand topspins close to the table.

On the other hand, it seems much more difficult than S2 when it comes to blocking. Incoming balls with heavy spin are quite difficult to control.

Combined with Primorac Carbon, this is a nasty combination for flicks, loops, counter loops, and blocks. With this combo, you won’t go wrong. Naruto & 9 tails combo.

Muy buena goma. La empecé usando de drive. Antes jugaba con un H3 de ambos lados, pero solo me sirvió para cortar y pegar plano. Con el primer cambio a S3 al drive, me sentí muy bien. Me empezaron a salir bien todas las técnicas, en especial el top que quería que me saliera. Va con mucho efecto y es una goma rápida. Incluso en golpes de poca o media fuerza se obtiene una muy buena velocidad.

Es muy versátil la goma. Se puede empujar la pelotita y que caiga al lado de la red o darle con todo y el enemigo ni la verá pasar. A veces creía que jamás iba a poder responder alguna pelota, pero no, la goma es una maravilla. Mucho control y efecto.

Una vez que aprendí a usarla bien de drive, la pasé al revés. Saqué la última H3 que tenía en revés y de drive me puse una Baracuda, para tener un poco más de velocidad en los tops o remates. La S3 es muy recomendable para comenzar a jugar y aprender bien las técnicas de efectos como tops o cortes (incluso corto muy bien de revés ahora con la S3, igual o mejor que con la H3). Con un buen madero ofensivo es un arma letal.

This rubber offers an excellent playing experience. The throw angle is exceptionally high, making it suitable for loopers. Additionally, its fast speed enhances the overall performance of the rubber.

A good rubber for offensive players. You will surely love playing with it.

Perfect on forehand/backhand for offensive users.

If you are an offensive player, play in MAX. It is a very good rubber.

A magic rubber. It is very good. You can make topspin very easily, and it has very good speed. The control is the best. The consistency is perfect, and the durability is high too. With this rubber, you can do it all. I loved it. 9.9/10.

I play with S3 on the forehand of my Donic Dotec Persson Carbokev racket, and on the backhand I use Desto F3 Big Slam.

For me, S3 is an excellent rubber. It offers amazing control, good speed, and fantastic spin. The soft sponge provides superb control while also providing enough speed for powerful topspins and fast attacks from long and mid distances. When playing near the table, greater precision is required.

In short, S3 is of excellent quality.

Very good rubber for your backhand. I have tested it with TSP Reflex Award OFF on the backhand and it is very easy to play with, considering that I am using short pimples on my backhand.

Spin: good+
Speed: good
Control: good+

Strong topspins and easy blocks, everything you need.

Has some of the springy nature of Tensors, balanced by the soft sponge and grippy topsheet. It has the best mix of control and pace of any ESN rubber I’ve tried so far. It’s really good for blocking and hitting, with enough grip to loop and lift backspin. It’s not too bouncy, so the short game isn’t compromised too much, but it has enough spring to punch through dead balls with ease. It’s an awesome backhand rubber. It’s the best blocker I’ve ever used.

Speed increases quite a lot with thickness, so if you try MAX and find it too bouncy, give 2.0 or 1.8 a try. I found the difference to be more noticeable than most rubbers.

I used this rubber with a BTY Joo Se Hyuk blade. I had Tenergy T05 on the forehand and Acuda S3 on the backhand.

Initially, the rubber felt too fast for my defensive style of play. However, with practice, my control improved significantly over the course of two months.

The chop had increased spin with this rubber. The S3 also enabled me to develop various strokes, including backhand attacks, counter-attacks, and active and passive blocks. While I initially struggled with blocking, I transitioned to active blocking and occasional counter-attacking, which proved effective.

Against more aggressive opponents, I noticed that my counter-attacks often resulted in the ball falling into the table. This may have been due to the high throw angle (5.6 compared to 4.0 for Donic Slice 40), the uncontrolled speed of the rubber, or my inability to impact the ball near or over the table.

The rubber was excellent for smash hits, but I rarely employed topspin. Receiving serves was more challenging with the Acuda S3 compared to the BTY Flextra and Tackiness Chop. Additionally, the S3 was not particularly suitable for serving, as the ball lacked sufficient spin.

Really like this rubber. It is faster than I expected. It works well for both forehand and backhand strokes.

Short Game:

This rubber excels in the short game. Low pushes and short serve returns are effortless to execute.

Very good! It provides much spin and power.

Used on a BTY Biside blade.

An excellent balance between control, spin, and speed. The loud “clicks” on hard hits resemble a fresh speed-glued rubber.

Not so powerful on drives, but very strong on top-spin.

Easy passive blocks and decent chops (even to short game).

The strongest aspect (in my opinion) is the effortless smashes. Just hit hard, and the ball will land on the table.

I paid 30 euros for a Nittaku Rutis on both sides of my blade. The rubbers provide excellent spin and good speed, while control is also good. The durability of the topsheet is amazing. I put them on in September and the rubbers are still like new, especially the backhand.

I might try a 2.0 thickness on the forehand and a 1.8 thickness on the backhand. Overall, I would give these rubbers a 9 out of 10.

For five years, I’ve stayed away from ESN products on BH, preferring more “meat-and-potatoes” rubbers like Mark V or Mendo. No more. Acuda S3 is the first ESN product I’ve played with that matches enough of the short game control and touch of classics and adds a lot of over the table attacking options, while being almost as good at mid distance.

Service spin was a step up to boot. Very forgiving considering how much it delivers. Durability is much better than previous ESN Tensor generations to boot. Still not on par with classic rubbers, but improved enough where it’s worth it.

Overall, I rate this rubber a 9. The ideal softness depends on your preference. The softer sponge of S2 and S1 results in a firmer feel. This rubber is designed for softer sponges and excels in creating springy, spinny loops. It is ideal for players who prefer slower, spin-oriented loops. However, it is important to use an appropriately stiff blade to prevent excessive softness. In my opinion, this rubber would be well-suited on an off- blade with a 2.0 thickness on the backhand. Exceeding this thickness may compromise control. The rubber’s quality is exceptional. Personally, as a hard hitter with a large swing, I find it slightly too soft for forehand use, but it performs admirably on my backhand.

So far, this is my favorite do-it-all rubber for the offensive-minded player. S3 is the only rubber I have found with the spin qualities of Tenergy05, the control of Sriver, the throw angle of Bryce FX, and the loud noise of Sinus Sound. It allows me to flip almost any underspin serve or play close to the net without the occasional pop-up problem of Tenergy.

Hitting is much more consistent now. I can hit with a human for 2-3 minutes without stopping, where before I’d last about 20 seconds before hitting a stray ball. Looping is a dream with this rubber. Not only do I get strong Ten05-ish spin, but it does so with a much lower throw angle, which puts more pressure on my opponent.

I can’t tell a difference in my service spin or control coming from Baracuda or ProBeta. But the weight is similar to Baracuda and a little heavier than ProBeta and much lighter than Tenergy. I’ve been using S3 on both sides of my TBSpirit for the past two months and have no downfalls to report on this rubber.

A step up from Bigslam and a step down from Baracuda, if that helps. Great rubber, love it.

Review

Just played with my new sheet of 2.0 S3 last Friday and was very pleased overall. I have played with Desto F3 (max) and Big Slam (max) for the past 10 years, so I have always been a big fan of Donic rubbers, especially the Desto rubbers. I tried the 2.0 as I heard it was faster than Big Slam, so thought I would have a little more control.

I would say the 2.0 was a little faster than the max thickness for Big Slam. One thing that really stood out was that I didn’t even notice much change from the F3 and F3 Big Slam I usually play with except for a little more speed/spin, and that was a good thing. The throw angle was medium-high, the spin was good, and the speed was good.

I’m anxious to try Acuda S3 in max thickness to see how it compares to F3 and Big Slam max. If this lasts longer than F3 or Big Slam, I’ll continue playing with this rubber.

Ok, summer league is now over and I’ve used this rubber for a month or so now in half a dozen matches.
It’s not quite as soft as the Big Slam that I’ve been used to, so at first, I thought I’d struggle adapting to the slightly lower throw angle of it, but just a couple of hours practice and I’d almost got it.
Apart from the odd close to the table loop going long, it’s had a good effect on my overall game.
Looping mid distance is a breeze with plenty of kick and spin (side spin in particular), touch shots and control is as good as Big Slam and flat hitting seems to be crisp and direct.
The surface seems very similar to Barracuda with superb mechanical grip giving you every opportunity to pinch the odd service point.
Overall I’m very pleased with it and shall see what the forthcoming season brings. It looks like a resilient type of rubber so should work out a cheaper option than Big Slam in the long run.

This rubber is suitable if you’re using an off+ blade. However, it’s a bit slow with my Yasaka Ma Lin Carbon.

The tackiness isn’t significant enough for backhand looping if that’s something you need. It offers good control for pushing and generates spin well.

However, beginners looking to advance their skills shouldn’t purchase this rubber. Additionally, it doesn’t have a tensor feel.